Benjamin Franklin Tells of His Experience While Attending the Constitutional Convention

Presented to you by: http://www.HistoricalConquest.com
Read more on our blog at: https://www.historicalconquest.com/blog

My name is Benjamin Franklin, and by the time the Constitutional Convention of 1787 came around, I was already an old man—81 years old, to be exact. But age didn’t stop me from attending what I believed was one of the most important gatherings in the history of our young nation. Let me tell you what it was like.

We had just won our independence from Britain a few years earlier, but the country was struggling. The Articles of Confederation—the document we were using as our framework for government—just weren’t cutting it. There was no strong central government to hold things together, and we were starting to see the cracks form. States were arguing with each other, trade was a mess, and we were teetering on the edge of chaos.

So, in May of 1787, delegates from all the states (except Rhode Island) gathered in Philadelphia to fix these problems. I had lived in Philadelphia for years and helped organize the city, so I was naturally ready to attend. Now, let me tell you, it wasn’t an easy task to get so many strong-minded individuals into one room to agree on anything! People like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison all had different ideas about what this new government should look like.

As for me, I was a firm believer in compromise. I’d been through enough political debates and foreign diplomacy to know that sometimes, you don’t get everything you want, but you can still find a way to meet in the middle. I watched as heated arguments broke out over how much power the federal government should have and how states, big and small, should be represented.

One of the biggest sticking points was how to represent states in the new government. Some wanted representation to be based on population, which favored the larger states, while others argued for equal representation for each state, which favored the smaller ones. This led to what is now known as the "Great Compromise," a proposal to create a two-house legislature—one based on population (the House of Representatives) and the other with equal representation for all states (the Senate). I supported this compromise because I knew it was the only way to keep everyone on board.

Throughout the convention, I remained a voice of reason and calm. As I said during one of our final meetings, “When you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views.” I believed we needed to rise above our individual concerns for the good of the whole nation. I also proposed that we open each session with a prayer, though it wasn’t formally adopted.

By September of 1787, after months of debate, we finally produced the United States Constitution. It wasn’t perfect, and I said as much when I signed it. But I also said, "I consent to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best." I knew that compromise was necessary, and while the Constitution didn’t give everyone exactly what they wanted, it provided a strong framework for the country to grow and evolve.

As I look back, I’m proud of what we accomplished during that summer in Philadelphia. The Constitution has stood the test of time, even as the country has faced new challenges. And while I may be remembered for my inventions, writings, and diplomacy, being part of this Convention is one of my proudest achievements. It was an opportunity to shape the future of this great nation, and I hope you, too, will see the value in compromise and working together for the greater good.

Visit us at: https://www.historicalconquest.com/marketplace

#historicalconquest #history #historical #ancientamerica #ageofexploration #france #french #iroquois #native #nativeamerican #nativeamericanhistory #british #england #religiouspersecution #expansion #truehistory #settlers #settlement #spain #france #French #Frenchhistory #frenchcolonial #frenchheritage #colonizers #colonizer #FrenchandIndianWar #RevolutionaryWar #AmericanRevolution #AfricanAmerican #BlackAmerican #Freedom #Slavery